Does the DoorDash customer rating matter? This is a question you might be asking yourself if you’ve started working as a Dasher on DoorDash.
The short answer is, yes your DoorDash customer rating does matter. To be clear, what I’m referring to is your customer rating, which is the rating you receive from customers who rate your delivery performance. If your DoorDash customer rating gets too low, then you risk deactivation.
There are other metrics that DoorDash looks at too. Some of these metrics do matter. Some don’t. I’ll go into some detail about these other metrics later in this post.
So, with that said, let’s look at the DoorDash customer rating, how it works, and what you can do to keep it high enough so you don’t risk deactivation.
What Is The DoorDash Customer Rating?
The DoorDash customer rating is a rating system that DoorDash uses to measure your delivery performance. Customers rate Dashers between 1 and 5 stars. The rating is created by using the average of your last 100 customer ratings. Here’s what it looks like in the app:
You can get a further breakdown of your customer rating in the Dasher app. If you click on customer rating, you’ll be able to see the last 100 ratings you’ve received.
In addition to the star rating, customers can also give you a thumbs up or thumbs down in four metrics. These include communication, whether you followed delivery instructions, order handling, and friendliness. These metrics do not directly impact your star rating, but you can assume that if someone is giving you a bad rating, they’re probably going to give you a thumbs down in one of these metrics too.
It’s important to remember that not everyone rates their delivery. This means the last 100 customer ratings you receive will not be the same as the last 100 deliveries you completed. If I had to guess, I’d estimate that less than 5% of DoorDash customers rate their delivery. Most people just get their order and never leave a rating.
Does The DoorDash Customer Rating Matter?
Your rating matters for two reasons. The first and most important reason to maintain a high rating is that if your rating gets too low, you can be deactivated. DoorDash states that if your customer rating falls below 4.2, you are eligible for deactivation.
This doesn’t mean you’re automatically deactivated if you fall below 4.2. DoorDash uses vague language that you may be subject to deactivation if you fall below 4.2. To avoid this issue, I recommend doing your best to keep your rating well above 4.2 stars.
You don’t need to have a perfect 5.0 customer rating though. I generally keep my rating around 4.9 without having to do anything beyond completing my deliveries relatively quickly. If you can keep your customer rating above 4.5, you’re probably in good shape. You’re always going to get some bad ratings from disgruntled customers, so you want to keep a buffer when it comes to your DoorDash customer rating.
The second reason your customer rating matters is if you want to get Top Dasher status. If you have Top Dasher status, you can dash anytime, even if the zone you want to dash in is full.
Personally, I don’t think Top Dasher status is worth getting. To get Top Dasher status, you also have to maintain a high acceptance rate, which means you’ll have to accept orders that are unprofitable or not worth doing.
So, the main reason to keep your customer rating high is to avoid deactivation and to give yourself a buffer so that when you get a few bad ratings, it won’t hurt your DoorDash customer rating too much.
How To Keep Your DoorDash Customer Rating High
If you want to keep your DoorDash customer rating high, you can follow some of these tips. They’re pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times people neglect to do these things.
Deliver Orders Quickly. This goes without saying. People want their orders fast. If you deliver them quickly, you’re likely to get better customer ratings.
Try To Make Sure Orders Are Accurate. Customers get mad when their orders are not accurate. Sometimes, orders are already packed and sealed, so you’re at the mercy of the restaurant making sure the order is correct. There’s not much you can do there, unfortunately. The part you can control is making sure the drinks that the customer ordered are included because restaurants often forget to include drinks with the order. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered food using DoorDash or Uber Eats and found that the delivery person didn’t get my drink. When you pick up an order, quickly check to see if there are drinks in the order before you leave.
Follow Delivery Instructions. Unfortunately, some customers are more annoying or lazy than others. If a customer tells you to bring their order up to their apartment, you should do it or else you risk getting a bad customer rating. The few bad ratings I’ve ever received were because I didn’t want to go into an apartment building and instead I left the food at the front door or in the lobby.
Keep Orders In Good Condition. You’d be surprised how often dashers deliver food in bad condition. Do your best to avoid spilling the order. Don’t hold pizza boxes sideways! Try to get the food to the customer the same way it was packed by the restaurant.
Other DoorDash Ratings And Whether They Matter
There are a few other DoorDash ratings to track. These include the following: (1) acceptance rate, (2) completion rate, and (3) on-time or early percentage rate.
Acceptance rate does not matter. The acceptance rate refers to the orders that are sent to you that you accept. You are an independent contractor if you’re a Dasher, so you have the right to accept or reject any orders you want. My acceptance rate rarely gets above 30% because I am picky about which orders I do. Because acceptance rate doesn’t matter, I do not worry about it.
Completion rate DOES matter. The completion rate is the percentage of the last 100 orders you’ve accepted that you’ve completed. Sometimes, you might accept an order, then cancel it instead of doing the order. It’s okay to do this a few times, but if you do it too much, you risk deactivation. DoorDash states that if your completion rate falls below 80%, you risk deactivation. I try to keep my completion rate around 90%.
On time or early rate refers to the percentage of orders you deliver within the time frame that DoorDash provides. This rating doesn’t matter. Indeed, it doesn’t ever seem to change for me. You still want to complete your deliveries quickly to keep your customer rating up, but don’t worry about this metric.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, your DoorDash customer rating does matter. Keep your customer rating above 4.2 so that you don’t risk deactivation. If you deliver orders in a timely manner, do your best to make sure orders are accurate, and follow directions provided to you, you shouldn’t have any problem keeping your customer rating up.
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Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
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- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
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- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
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- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
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Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
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- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Hi Kevin.
Firstly, ThamknYiu for providing some insight into DoorDash ratings. I was searching for the average percentage that customers leave a review for their dasher. In reading your article I think this is one point that is flawed. 50% is highly unlikely.
I come from a marketing background where surveys were consistently sent to customers. In general, if you get a 10-12% response you are GOLDEN 😉 most random surveys only get a 2% response.
Nonetheless, love your article. Thanks again.
Jill
Yeah, I have no actual data on how many people actually rate, but you’re right, it’s probably in the single digits. I’ll update my post – I’m not even sure why I wrote less than half because I know it’s probably less than 5%.